Christmas

I can't believe that Christmas is over. What a fantastic Christmas this was. My Christmas week started with the Channel 2 Toy Run in Baltimore. I started doing this about 4 years ago. It really puts things into perspective. The toy drive starts off to benefit the families of fallen officers and fallen firefighters. Unfortunately there have been way too many line of duty deaths this year, most of the officers had small children. These families are honored at a dinner before we deliver the toys. Then we load police cars as full as we can with gifts. One of the places we took toys was to the Ronald McDonald house. It breaks my heart to see the families there from all over the world who would give anything to have a healthy child. We met one father whose 2 year old daughter was going to have a liver transplant the next day. I know all of our prayers were with her. There was probably 2 miles of police cars filled with toys, what a great way to start off Christmas.

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. During the day we met Sharon and Michelle and kids at Jump Zone. I think Eric had as much fun as the kids did running around and playing. We went to church with Dave, Beth, Dannie, Alyssa, and Lucille. All of the kids were called to the front of the church to talk about Christmas. The pastor asked why were we celebrating, I was so proud of Michael when he was the first one to say it was baby Jesus' birthday! After church we went to Watkins park for a drive through Christmas light show. By the time we got home it was already 8:30, way past bedtime so we checked on north pole.com and could see that NORAD was tracking Santa and that he was getting ready to cross the ocean. That was all the kids needed to hear, straight to bed and not a word out of them till morning.

Christmas morning was a blast, David handed out most of the presents, they loved everything they got, it didn't matter if it was a new game for the Wii or new underwear! We had breakfast and played until it was time to go to Beth and Dave's for dinner. We had a really nice time at dinner and for once I did not have to rush out. I did not have to be at work until 7pm!

The days after Christmas have been spent playing. The boys are really getting a workout playing Outdoor Adventure on the Wii. Sunday the boys and I will leave for mom and Jerry's house. Eric will be staying home to take care of the dogs

Halloween - a little late

Halloween was a blast. David was batman, Michael was Darth Vader. The day started off fun, they were able to wear their costumes to school and at the end of the school day there was a Halloween parade. After school we came home to carve pumpkins. I had worked my butt off this week and had to save all of my carving for Halloween. As usual I was able to get 4 pumpkins carved with a little help from the boys.

As evening approached it was hard to keep their enthusiasm contained, when it turned 6pm we were out the door. David originally wanted to stay home and hand out candy, of course he changed his mind. We went trick or treating with the kids friends Tori, Nicholas and Johanna. It was a mad dash through the neighborhood. This was Nicholas' first Halloween, he was so darn cute running from house to house, made me miss the boys being his age (3). After quite a bit of trick or treating David decided he had enough and wanted to go home and hand out candy. Unfortunately most of the trick or treaters were done, but he did get to hand out some. After handing out candy for a little while he thought we should do some more trick or treating--why not so off we went.

Saturday I took the boys to Valley View Farms to see a giant pumpkin. They cut the pumpkin open and you had to guess how many seeds were inside. A little hint--there are not as many seeds as you would think. There were about 650 seeds, my guess was 1500. There was a mini haunted house at Valley View Farm. Michael was so exited, he's wanted to go to a haunted house all of October. David reluctantly agreed to go in. The first room we entered had an octopus that bounced up and down and blew bubbles. Not really Halloween material I thought, but David thought otherwise, he turned and ran as fast as he could to get out. While David sat on a bench I took Michael through the rest of the haunted house (it took us about a minute to go through so its not like David was sitting by himself for long). As most of you know, I'm not a fan of scary stuff. Michael loved the skeleton and monster that jumped out at us, me, not so much. Michael tried to convince David to go back in, he was so sweet saying he would hold one hand and I could hold the other. David agreed to go back in if I carried him. So I carried him and had to practically run through because he was terrified.

Next we went to see Nathan play in a soccer game. His team came in 2nd in the championship and he got a trophy. Afterwards we went back to Lisa and Chris's house where I tried my hand at guitar hero. Well guitar hero I am not, but it was fun playing. Lisa and I took all of the boys on a Haunted Hayride. Lisa was told it was not too scary so we figured we would give it a try. We all loaded into a tractor pulled wagon, poor David sunk so deep into the straw it was as if he were trying to disappear. Of course monsters and ghosts and all sorts of scary stuff comes running at the wagon, David doesn't make a sound, just sinks further into the straw. Michael on the other hand decides its a good idea if he screams at the monsters to make them go away. He screamed so loud that he should have a part in a horror movie. After he would scream he would crack up laughing. I was in tears I was laughing so hard, its hard to be scared with Michael around. As we neared the end of the ride David did scream a time or two to try to scare monsters away. David said he liked it but I doubt I could have gotten him to go again. Nathan and Michael on the other hand were not afraid at all.

I think this may have been our most fun Halloween yet!

Lack of Posts

I have had some complaints about the lack of post out there, sorry. We have had a lot going on, like that is unusual. I will start with today and work back....

Today I took the boys to Michelle and Steve's house for lunch and pumpkin painting. We had a terrific lunch, Michelle and Steve are great cooks. We then went to buy pumpkins for the kids to paint, only problem it was pouring down rain so the pumpkin farm was closed. Turned out not to be a big deal, Michelle had cup cakes for the kids to frost and decorate. Its seems a little bit of sprinkles goes a long way. I then had to hurry home and drop the boys off at our neighbors Slade and Wendy's house. Thank goodness we have good friends. I had an annual compliance meeting with Primerica. Even though I'm not very involved in Primerica anymore I still am a firm believer in how they help families and I want to make sure my license stays current.

Yesterday (Friday) I decided I was not going to be able to make it! Eric had a goal of not turning on the heat until November 1st. I worked 12 hours from Thursday into Friday on overtime and was cold and tired after I finally woke up. Figured I would just take the chill off the house---I turned on the furnace and ---- nothing. Seems that something is not working so we have no heat. Just when it seems that maybe I will be able to pay for carpet for the new master bedroom something else has to happen :( Seems like working my butt of is barely helping, we still don't have a kitchen or a floor....

Wednesday: Chris and I had a job at a very local hotel for bedbug service. Blanca did well and I think this will turn into a recurring contract == yeah!

Tuesday: We got a new dog today--Gibson. He's a 1 1/2 year old yellow lab that will chase a ball for hours. We are trying to decide on a new name for him, we don't really care for Gibson. Michael says he's going to call him Biscuit Gibson Nelson. Who knows, maybe that will stick. He's great with the kids, he practically throws his toy at you for you to throw it. I keep saying that if he doesn't smell bugs that he will go the way of the beagles (did I mention the beagles didn't work out, they are now smelling rabbits on a big farm). As I'm typing this, Biscuit Gibson Nelson is laying under the desk on my feet, he reminds me of Rocky, I hope he does a good job smelling bugs, I think I really like him :)

Ok, I think I'm all caught up, I'm going to try to upload some pictures. Sunday we have the FOP Halloween party, I'm sure that will be fun.

We have paint!

Hooray!!! We actually have paint on the new master bedroom walls. Next will be trim, doors and carpet!

Volunteering

I was able to volunteer in David & Michael's classroom yesterday and today. What an experience. I am so fortunate to be able to do this, and it really gives me an understanding of what they are doing everyday and learning. I am struck by the amount of extra work that is needed to be done. I made tons of copies, cut shapes out, made binoculars, and spent time having each of the kids in the class read to me one on one. Mrs. Travers, their kindergarten teacher is wonderful. She keeps the kids right on track and she really appreciated all of the help I was able to give.

I really feel that I got just as much out of volunteering in the classroom as I gave. I want to boys to know that we feel their education is important and that its a priority. While there are a million things that I could be doing while they are at school, in the long run its not those little things that really count. Eric and I were talking and he said that this is the stuff they are going to remember, they were so proud to show off their mom at school and to let everyone know that I was there helping Mrs. Travers.

Touchdown

Tonight was the Blackhawks first scrimmage. First of all I still really don't get what a scrimmage is, isn't it just another game? The boys for the most part seem to have fun. David has gone through some "I don't want to play" stages. Tonight Michael actually scored a TOUCHDOWN! Unfortunately Eric missed it because he was tending to Davids wound. David had a teeny tiny cut on his finger that he was screaming for a bandaid for. Michael was so proud of himself, and we were thrilled. One of the coaches wives was able to find David a bandaid thank goodness. Still even with the bandaid he was refusing to go back in the game. He is finally persuaded to play and --- you guessed it --- TOUCHDOWN. It was pretty incredible that our team scored 3 touchdowns and 2 of them were made by our boys. Do we have future NFL stars? I doubt it but we are proud none the less. Eric has made sure to tell them that not everyone gets touchdowns so they won't think they are supposed to get one every game.

Our house

The house is really coming along. On Wednesday Taras and Eric broke through the downstairs family room wall. It makes our family room seem huge. Although it sounds good, its really a pain due to the fact that we now have 4 dogs. We had really gotten used to having the back addition to keep the dogs separate from the rest of the house. Today (Saturday) Eric and Taras finished hanging the drywall in the downstairs addition, it looks great. Hopefully we can get Jose out to the house soon to finish the drywall. I am figuring the next steps are to finish the drywall, paint and then put the floor in. We'll see how long that takes!

First Week of School

The boys have finished their first week of school. So far they love it. Michael talks about the new friends he's making. David loves to buy chocolate milk in the lunch line. It's so weird that they are not home during the day :( We are getting ready for a hotel expo in Baltimore so I have gotten a lot of work done while they are not there.

They are tired and hungry when they come home. I don't think its clicked yet in their heads that they only have a certain amount of time for lunch. The first day of school, neither one ate hardly anything, they said they ran out of time. Its getting a little better, but they still don't eat much at school. Tori comes home with us after school, so its get home, snack and then playtime. I guess sooner than later they will start having homework so that will take a bite out of our evening time.

Summer's Over

I took the boys to the state fair today while Eric and Taras worked on the house....that's another post that I just don't feel like doing now. With school starting Wednesday I wanted to do something fun. We got to the fair early because I wanted to watch the horse show. Really, if you ever need a cheering section, let me know and I will bring the boys. They picked a favorite in every class we watched. Usually their favorite did not win which didn't make them happy. Then of course we did the rides. My favorite was when they boys went to the fun house. I was laughing so hard I was in tears. People walking by must have thought I was crazy. Michael and David were trying to make their way through the "glass house". You would think after the first time Michael walked face first into the glass he would have figured it out, nope. He kept crashing into the glass face first, I think he started to panic because he started crashing face first into the glass even faster (I'm cracking up laughing as I'm writing this). Finally the carnival guy lets me in, but before I could get to Michael an older boy helped him. Now the other funny part is that I have to continue through the fun house. I have to admit it was hard making it through the glass house, but I was sure to keep my hands out!

Hopefully I did not wear them out too much. A full day of school and football in the evening? Stay posted....

Football Season

Today was the first day of flag football. I was really hoping that they would have fun, they were so excited about it I don't think they realize it would be hard work. Turns out that they loved it. The kids were divided up in groups and they would move around to different stations. It cracked us up to see the blocking station. I was under the impression that flag football was not a contact sport. Eric told me of course they still block, they just don't tackle. Unfortunately at the football catching station the boys seem to have inherited my skill of catching :( They played for about an hour and were tired and sweaty by the end but they both said they loved it.

Dorney Park

We finally made it to mom and Jerry's to go to Dorney Park. It just would not be summer with out a trip to the amusement park. We also went to the Crayola Factory in Easton PA. All in all it was a fun and exhausting trip. The boys seem to have never ending energy, I don't know how mom and I kept up with them.

David had a lot of fun catching bugs in the backyard. Mom had gotten each of the boys a bug collector kit. David caught mostly moths, Michael just wanted you to catch the bugs for him--they were hard to catch. The funny part was when David asked mom if she had coconuts in her yard--well, it wasn't a coconut, it was rabbit poop! Guess it looks like a baby coconut? Everyone except for David thought it was hilarious.

The Boy Who Tries Things

Hooray, "the boy who tries things" is back. David has referred to himself over the past year or so as "the boy who tries things". Well that boy has been gone for quite a while. Yesterday we went blackberry and peach picking with Sharon, Ben, Jessica, David and their cousin Rebecca. I could not get David to try a peach, but when we moved to the blackberry field he asked if he could eat a blackberry. Turns out he loved it. Sharon asked if he was the boy who tries things and he said that "yes, I'm the boy who tries things again".

After peach picking we went back to Sharon's to play, the kids had a great time playing on the slip and slide and the playground. While we were getting dinner ready the kids were watching the Olympics. If you ever need a kid to cheer you on in something its Michael. He is the most enthusiastic, team spirited kid out there. Michael was telling all the kids that we root for the USA because that's were we live, but that we root for the Orioles as well.

On Saturday we went to Glen Echo park. For the boys birthday Alex and Elizabeth had given tickets to a puppet show. Again, Michael was in the very front laughing louder than anyone else. It was a beautiful day, after the show we played on the playground and rode a carousel from 1921. Michael is still running around singing "were wolfing" from the puppet show.

Please help

Below is from my neighbors blog. http://sbwlw.spaces.live.com/ Slade and Wendy adopted a beautiful boy Nicholas from Russia. It turns out that he has something called Fragile X. Please take a minute and go to the AMEX site and vote.


Ok, I know that there are many, many readers out there. I see your numbers on my counter everyday. So, I am asking a favor of all my blog readers. I need you to VOTE. Not for the president but for a piece of the 2.5 million dollars that AmExpress is donating to organizations, and FRAXA is one of the organizations. You do not even have to be an AMEX member to vote. Here's the site to vote: http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/PUPSKI
If you have been reading the blog, you know that Nicolas was diagnosed with Fragile X back in July.
A little about Fragile X and the project
More than 1.1 million children and adults worldwide – 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females -- suffer from Fragile X, the most common known inherited cause of intellectual impairment and autism. Fragile X can cause seizures, mental retardation, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. An additional 1 billion people around the world are carriers of this devastating disorder – most without knowing it.
Studies of Fragile X and autism have been galvanized by families and loved ones of the disabled. Clinical trials of new treatments are ongoing. But we have not yet found effective treatments or the cure, and children are waiting. The need for more funding for Fragile X research is urgent. More broadly, this project will show parents of disabled, suffering children everywhere that they are not helpless: by banding and working together, parents can find a cure

Only back a day

We returned from our Vacation early Saturday evening. Having 4 kids in the car was really not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everyone was great except for chatty Michael. My mom and grandparents often tell the story of how I talked the entire way home from Kansas (driving) when I was a little kid. I found that story endearing--that is until I have to hear Michael talk the entire way home from Williamsburg! Now I feel bad for my grandparents so long ago, must have been a long car ride from Kansas to Cumberland.

Sunday morning I receive a call from my mom who tells me that my Grandmother has been taken to the hospital basically unresponsive and they believe she has congestive heart failure. I could not believe it, we had not even been home 24 hours, Grandma had done well on vacation. I really had a bad feeling and knew that I needed to make the drive to Cumberland. Luckily Eric only had the 3 boys, Brittany was going to spend the day with my other nieces Danielle and Alyssa.

By the time I got on the road, mom called to tell me that Grandma appeared to be doing better and I did not need to come. I still felt I needed to go so I continued. Seeing Grandma in the hospital was hard, I did not really think that she knew I was there. Several hours later the doctor came and drained 1 liter of fluid off of her lung. After he drained the fluid she seemed much better and even ate a little dinner.

Funny story about the doctor draining the fluid. I'm a cop right? Seen a lot of things most people haven't, plenty of it not pretty, really down right nasty. Turns out I'm a complete wuss when it comes to loved ones. My sister Connie and I held my Grandmothers arms to keep her sitting up while the doctor drained her lung. I just kept looking at the fluid filling up in the bottle, there was a lot of it! I started to get this ringing in my ears, I know it means I am not doing great. I tell Connie that she needs to hold both arms so I can sit down. I figure the doctor does not need 2 patients. Connie thought it was hilarious, she thinks I'm supposed to be strong. I don't think she realizes how strong she is. I really don't think I could do the things she's doing right now, she really is doing an amazing job. I am very proud of her.

Williamsburg Vacation

We are on vacation in Williamsburg Va for our annual family vacation. Eric has the boys at the game room so I figured I would post while I have a few minutes of quiet time. For the past 4 years we have come to Williamsburg with my grandparents and my parents. This year my sister, niece and nephew were able to come.

Typically we don't do much when we come to Williamsburg. We spend most of our day at the pool. I am a very history "challenged" person, really it bores the crap out of me. We have visited historic Williamsburg in the past and I really have no desire to go back. Playing in the pool with the kids is fun enough for me. Yesterday we did take a trip into historic Williamsburg, not for history mind you, but for "the tree". Last year we found "the tree" and took some great pictures. This year we wanted a family picture in front of "the tree". Now mind you, the family consist of 11 people. One in a wheel chair, the other with a walker, 3 kids under 6 years old, and mom ( I will get to mom later!). Eric and I take the kids and leave earlier than everyone else to find "the tree". Luckily it did not take that long to find it because by now the temperature is climbing into the 90's at around 10am. We were able to get the whole family around and I think we got some great pictures. After the "formal" pictures mom thought it would be a good idea for her and Jerry to climb into the tree for a picture, granted their pictures came out really good, but for those of you that know mom you would not be surprised to hear that she fell out of the tree while climbing down! She is a little sore today, but for the most part is OK.

The main focus of our Williamsburg vacation really is family. My sister and I have such fond memories growing up and spending time with our grandparents, I really want my boys to have the same experience.

Well I better get this post saved, I want to meet the kids by the pool.

In the blink of an eye

Today Wendy had to take Nicholas to a cardiologist for a check up, thank God all is well with his heart. While Wendy was gone I was watching Tori. We went to Tori's back yard and the kids played in the kiddie pool and on the new swing set. The kids were getting tired and I turned my back for just a minute to get Tori a towel when Michael fell off of a swing. He and David were on a two kid glider swing and evidently David told Michael to hold his hands up. David was probably just reenacting our trip to Dutch Wonderland--Michael complained immediately that his head hurt, I just figured no blood, he's OK, yeah I'm sure it hurt but there are really no major marks. I took the kids inside figuring they were tired and enough is enough before someone else gets hurt. Shortly after going inside Wendy got home and Michael started complaining is head hurt. Well now I figure he's just complaining (he's been doing a lot of that lately), I know they want to go home and play the Wii. I bring the boys home and now Michael is wailing about his head. Eric gets him some kids Tylenol and next thing I know he's asleep on the couch. A few minutes later Eric yells for me. I go upstairs and Michael is vomiting. OK, now I'm starting to put 2 and 2 together--Michael gets hit on the head, says it hurts, falls asleep, and now is vomiting. OK, guess that's more than 2 clues. I call the pediatrician who says to take him immediately to the hospital.

On my way to the hospital Michael can't stay awake, he will say one or two words and then drift off to sleep, by the time I get him to the ER he is terribly lethargic. My friend John Freeman was working at APD, I called him to meet me at the ER to help get me checked in. He gets there the same time as me and is able to take my car and park it for me--thank John. While checking in Michael starts vomiting again, he can barely stay awake for them to get his vitals. He is taken pretty much right away for a CAT scan. The scan was perfect thank GOD. Due to the fact that he was still lethargic and vomiting he was admitted to the pediatric floor for observation.

By the time we get to a room Michael is doing much better. He thought it was pretty cool to be able to adjust the bed and to change the channel on the TV. Now that I know he's getting better I start to freak about their birthday party. The doctor assured me that Michael was doing much better and will definitely make the 2pm birthday party!

Around 9:30pm Eric relieved me at the hospital and will stay with him overnight. Michael has been able to keep down the jello and apple juice and was eagerly awaiting a Popsicle when I left.

Hope things go a little better Thursday!

Kitchen Pictures

Catching Up

Ok, I'm not going to beat my self up. I keep meaning to go back and update my blog, but life is just too crazy right now. I am just going to pick up from now and move on. I just finished reading my neighbor Wendy's blog and feel inspired to try to slow it down a little bit. So what if I can't be super mom even if my kids think they are superheroes. I have to remember that this is their last summer before school starts (can you believe it?) and I really want to have fun with them.

An update on where we are as of today. The boys are at Connie's house for vacation bible school. I will pick them up on Sunday, I miss them but it sounds like they are having a great time. I figured while they were gone this week that I would try to pick up some overtime, about 38 hours worth, whew I'm tired to say the least. We celebrated Lucille's birthday at Toby's dinner theatre. We saw "All Shook Up", it was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Mom was able to celebrate her birthday in Cumberland. Connie, the kids, Mom, and Granddad took cake to be with Grandma at the rehab center.

We have really moved on with the house. We no longer have a kitchen! I am a little freaked out right now, I have no idea how long we will be without a kitchen. Taras is working on building us a temporary kitchen. On top of everything (literally), Eric took the ceiling down in the kitchen, living room, dining room and hallway, that's when we discovered a leak in our roof that is a year old! Eric went with friends to a ball game, he really deserved a break after all of the work he's done this week. When he gets home tonight he will see that it rained pretty hard and there is a bunch of water on the plastic where the ceiling used to be --- its always something.

I was able to get out some invitations and evites to the boys 5th birthday party, I just can't believe it, this doesn't mean I'm getting older does it?

Kindergarten

Well, they boys are all registered for kindergarten. I really could not believe it when I was filling out the paperwork, how fast time flies.

I started talking to the boys about maybe being in separate classes. I really thought that David would have a hard time with that idea. Turns out that Michael ended up sobbing, he wants to be in David's class. David says he wants to be in his own class. Michael was so sad, it was really heartbreaking. When I told them I had just registered them, Michael asked if he was going to have to be in his own class, I told them the school said that we could think about it. That seems to make him happy for the time being. The school did tell me that I have until July to decide if I want them together or separate, the decision is ours to make.

I also registered our next door neighbor Tori for Kindergarten. Slade and Wendy are in Russia adopting Nicholas. What an exciting time, we can't wait to meet him.

Busy Day

I really do mean well--I do think about posting a lot, but it gets put on the back burner. Work has been really busy. The bedbug jobs seem to be picking up. We are inspecting 2 houses on Saturday.

Today was a busy day. Connor and Abby (twins from preschool) were over for a play date today. Connor is Michael's best friend. They all had such a good time and played so well together it was a joy to have them over. Eric and Maria Johnson had given the boys Andre's old Gator truck a few days ago. Michael and Connor would take a turn and then David and Abby would take a turn driving around the cul de sac. After they left we had about 1/2 hour of quiet time and then Tori came over. Our neighbors Slade and Wendy were going to a concert tonight in Baltimore so Tori is over for a sleep over. Our biggest challenge was dinner--Michael is really into burping and really likes to show off at dinner. Other than that, the kids were really pretty good.

We are so excited for Slade and Wendy. They leave next Thursday for Russia. They are adopting "Nicholas" from Siberia! Nicholas just turned 3 years old. He is a very lucky boy to be joining such a great family. I want to take David and Michael to the library this week to get some kids books about Russia so we can learn about where Nicholas is coming from. It should be a really fun summer with this new addition to the neighborhood.

Seymour's 60th Anniversary

We were all in Cumberland this weekend for my Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. It was really a great time. My grandmother really seemed to be doing great, so much like her old self. My mom did a terrific job planning the dinner. We had dinner at Penn Alps. We have had a lot of family dinners there over the years. We had a dinner for my great grandparents there, for my Aunt's 50th birthday and now my grandparents 60th. Mom made really pretty centerpieces for each of the tables. I can't always picture what she is talking about making, but everything came out really pretty. I loved the colors for the cake, sage green. The cake topper was beautiful even though I could not fit it on the cake.

I think where mom really out did herself was on the activities that she brought for all of the great grandchildren. The stickers were a huge hit when near the end of the evening they all dressed themselves up with stickers all over their faces.

David and Michael put on a show early in the evening with a singing of "God Bless America". It was loved by all!

I am so thankful that we were able to spend this time together as a family. As time goes by, I really appreciate all of these special moments.

To Send or Not to Send-That is the Question....

Eric and I have been going back and forth the past few weeks trying to decide if the boys should go to kindergarten or wait a year. I really did not think there was any decision to make until recently I learned that a lot of boys with summer birthdays are held back a year to start kindergarten at 6. We did tons of research, all of which was really split 50/50. We talked to a lot of people, again, all split 50/50. Then I talked with their preschool teacher. Mrs. McClellan assured me that they are totally ready for kindergarten. She told me that there are kids in their class that she advises wait another year, but David and Michael are ready!

After the talk with Mrs. McClellan Eric and I have made our decision to send the boys in September. I thought the boys would be so happy when I told them that they are really getting to be big kids and won't it be exciting to go to kindergarten in the fall? Michael is thrilled, David's only response was "but I don't like sandwiches!" (we have told him that a lot of kids like to eat sandwiches in kindergarten). I don't know that David will EVER eat a sandwich, but he will be going to Crofton Meadows kindergarten in the fall!

Been a While

Wow, I did not realize that I had not made a posting since the begining of January. I think everyone except for me is sticking to their New Years Resolutions. David has had more super thumbs up days than thumbs down days, a lot more; Michael certainly eats plenty of yogurt and cheese sticks; Eric is a great dad! I have my times when I eat better, but I'm so easily distracted:(

On January 10th I began my new position as a patrol Sgt. Its was a rough begining, but I'm getting used to it. My last days in K-9 were so much harder than I thought it would be. I still miss it every day. Bosco is doing well, I don't think he knows I'm going to work without him--I sneak out the door so he doesn't see me in a uniform.

The boys are doing well, they had their Valentine's day party at school today. Nothing like a holiday that revolves around candy! Eric and I are having serious discussions about holding the boys back a year from kindergarten. This seems to be a trend, especially with boys. It may give them an academic edge to be a little older. I have been talking to other parents and reading a ton. I think academically they are ready, I am just not sure about their maturity level.


I probably won't be posting that much in the next few weeks. We are getting ready for a hotel expo in Ocean City. I have so much to do to get ready for that.

New Year's Resolutions

Eric and I talked to the boys about the meaning of New Year's Resolutions. My resolution is to eat more healthy foods even though I feel I'm running like crazy most of the time. I need to take the time to put my health first. Eric's resolution was to try to be a better dad by being more patient. Michael said his resolution was to eat more cheese sticks and yogurt. David's resolution was to have super thumbs up every day. (That's what he gets at school when he has a good day and is able to keep his hands to himself).

We will do our best to stick to our resolutions.